FOC PICKS FOR 5/4/2026

Happy Free Comic Book Day, Happy Comics Giveaway Day, Happy Star Wars Day…and soon to be Happy Cinco De Mayo!! Wow, this is a full week of fun starting this past Saturday. Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend and found some great free books and deals out there.

Might be a few sleeper books this week…sneaky first appearances and such. Not much for Indy’s, though. Let’s hit the highlights of what’s coming up next month!

Use cover CHU2026 at Third Eye Comics to save 15% off all your orders

 

COVERS

 

Has Dan Mora ever drawn Spider-Man? Let me know…although this one-shot had too many variants to begin with, I do like Mora’s Superman and now Spider-Man…so kinda cool to see them on the same cover.

 

 

Marvel needs to give Yasmine Putri more Venom cover work. Would like to see more, and she seems to draw the spider characters well.

 

 

A little bit of a sleeper pick here…seeing how the Foccillo manga style variant of Superman #34 still sells well and holds value.

 

NOTABLE REPRINTS

 

One of the most iconic comic books in history, Daniel Clowes presents a self-described “Orgy of Spite, Vengeance, Hopelessness, Despair, and Sexual Perversion”! Originally published in August, 1989, this timeless classic includes the first chapters of Clowes’s graphic novels “Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron” and “Young Dan Pussey,” as well as the short stories “Devil Doll” (parodying Jack Chick comics), “The Laffin’ Spittin’ Man,” and “What Is the Most Important Invention of the Twentieth Century?” Celebrate 50 years of Fantagraphics Books with this one-time rerelease!

Popular independent book from the 80s and 90s gets the fax treatment.

 

 

This book needs no introduction. There have been no shortages of reprints over the years with Fantasy Masterpieces and such, but I’m really interested to see this in foil.

 

POTENTIAL FIRSTS

 

Since he made his debut, Jeff the Land Shark has enjoyed the company of the Marvel Universe’s greatest heroes – but all he wants is to be left alone after he runs into a clingy septapus named Ken! When they find themselves stuck together in a tricky predicament, will Jeff put aside his grievances in time to help them both escape? Plus, revisit some of Jeff’s earliest encounters with Deadpool and Elsa Bloodstone! Collecting material from JEFF WEEK (2025), DEADPOOL (2019), and MARVEL AGE (2023) #1000.

Looks like a short story introducing Ken the Septapus, plus some reprinted material.

 

 

SPORE is spreading, and it’s all SPIDER-MAN’s fault! But should Peter even BE fighting in a tragedy of his own making?! And DON’T MISS the answers to an earth-shattering riddle from the battle with Torment in ASM/VENOM “Death Spiral”!

Not sure if Spore appears in a prior issue…maybe #29. But the regular cover this looks to be his first cover (tied with a few variants of this issue), if not first appearance.

 

 

The acclaimed team of BENITO CERENO and MARK ENGLERT introduce the biggest mission in CAPES history! With INVINCIBLE off-planet fighting the Viltrumite War and the new Guardians of the Globe battling The Order, now’s the time for Capes, Inc to become the face of superpowered crime-fighting. But has Bolt already made the one mistake that could doom CAPES? Plus, the FIRST APPEARANCE of ELLA MENTAL, all-new INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE character from the soon to be hit Invincible VS game, in the first chapter of new backup stories by Invincible creators ROBERT KIRKMAN and CORY WALKER!

She’s on Cover A (sort of), but if the character took off I’d think people would rather have this cover which she is featured in full art.

 

BLIND BAG of the WEEK

 

This year, Marvel Comics dedicates 616 Day to its greatest supervillain—DOCTOR DOOM! Doom will take over the celebratory day with 616 DAY MARVEL MYSTERY BAGS, special sealed bags that contain each of the following:

• One exclusive black and white edition of Doomquest #1, the upcoming epic by Ryan North and Francesco Mobili, with an exclusive variant cover by Simone Bianchi OR an ultra-rare, hand-drawn, original sketch cover by a surprise artist.
• One facsimile edition of a classic Doctor Doom story, either with its original cover OR a variant cover by a modern superstar:
• Avengers #25 Facsimile Edition
• Avengers #25 Facsimile Edition Alessandro Cappuccio Variant Cover
• Fantastic Four #258 Facsimile Edition
• Fantastic Four #258 Facsimile Edition Peach Momoko Variant Cover
• Iron Man #149 Facsimile Edition
• Iron Man #149 Facsimile Edition Dan Panosian Variant Cover
• A Doctor Doom paper mask featuring artwork by the legendary Jack Kirby!

Some bags contain ULTRA-RARE surprises!

This was on FOC last week and got pushed. So here it is again.

 

GIMMICK of the WEEK

 

Twelve killers were dropped into Oak Valley on Halloween night to determine the fate of the country. Now, dawn breaks and winner takes all as the final battle draws to a close. Who will survive…and what will be left of them? The first season of the breakout horror phenomenon concludes with blood and glory!

You’ve made it this far…the last of the trading cards in this set!

 

NEW ONES

 

It’s a world before the Punisher. A world where the existence of the Hulk is but a whisper of a rumor. A world where A.I.M. has just developed a Cosmic Cube in the jungles of South America. Frank Castle, Bruce Banner and Peter Parker are all on a mission to keep the Cube out of the wrong hands – including each other’s. In this three-way free-for-all for the power of the cosmos, who will come out on top? Legendary creators Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert team up to tell the grittiest Spider-Man story of the ages!

 

 

In a corner of far-flung space, a world explodes. A lone rocket escapes the destruction and races through space, ultimately landing on a small farm in small-town Kansas. A kindly couple steps with trepidation toward the alien craft as the door opens. Out steps a man named Jor-El, the sole survivor of the planet Krypton! As Jor-El fits into his new home, he realizes that he can help the world, not just with his newfound powers but with his intellect as well. Witness how a Man of Steel and Science saves the world!

New Elseworlds mini-series.

 

INDY SPOTLIGHT

 

Welcome to near future Los Angeles—a neon-scorched city where skateboarding has been ruthlessly outlawed. But nothing stops Skate Ali.By day, she’s just another student dodging detention. By night—she’s a rebel on wheels, an enigmatic loner defying the law on the Los Angeles streets. But when Ali slams headfirst into the infamous world of underground skateboarding, she comes face to face with a crew of outcast skaters called the LA Skull Clan, and their masked leader, Skull Queen 9. Fueled by a magical force called the Rush, the clan pulls off explosive moves and defiant acts of resistance. Faced with the opportunity of leveling up her game, but afraid of actually being perceived by others, Ali must decide: will she play it safe, or kickflip straight into a revolution?

A high-octane, genre-smashing sci-fi skatepunk saga about friendship, rebellion, and finding your line when the world wants to knock you down.

 

Parting Thoughts

Short and sweet this week. Hope everyone has a great week!